Modern Siamese Cats

The Looks

Head

The head of the modern Siamese cat has a chiseled look, and should be wedge-shaped. The wedge starts from the tip of the nose and the line to the tips of the ears should be completely straight, forming a triangle, when seen from the front.

The head should be medium-sized and proportionate to the body, not too small. The neck should be slender and elegant. The profile is absolutely straight, there is no whisker break. The nose is long and straight, and continues to the forehead without a break.

The chin is well defined. Tip of the chin is in line with
the tip of the nose in the same vertical plane. The chin should not recede, nor
be massive. The muzzle if fine and wedge-shaped. Males are allowed some jowl.

Eyes

The eyes of modern Siamese cats are captivating. They are brilliant
sapphire blue - with variation from pale blue to deep blue. The color is caused
by the partial albinism gene. Light reflects back from the retina revealing the
breath-taking blue color (this is called the Tyndall's phenomenon). There
should be very little, preferably no yellow pigment in the eyes.

The shape of the eyes is almond, and they are medium-sized.
They should be an eye's width apart, no more. Also they should be neither
protruding nor recessed (deep set). They
are oblique, at a slant towards the nose, and in harmony with the lines of the
wedge of the head and ears. They should be uncrossed, and should be expressive
with a definitive presence, showing intelligence and emotion.

In the past Siamese cats often had crossed eyes, which was
cased by an abnormal uncrossed wiring of the optic chiasm. This was caused by
the same albino allele that causes the colored points in the Siamese's coat.
These days this trait is mostly bred out. The same albino allele causes that
the eyes of the Siamese lack tapetum lucidum. This means their eyes don't
amplify dim light as it would in a normal cat, causing them to see better in
dim light conditions. This may be a
reason why the Siamese cats are somewhat less active at night.

Despite their light colored coat and blu eyes, the Siamese
are not deaf. Deafness is caused by the same genes that cause pigment loss in
skin cells. This is not the same gene that causes the color of the Siamese.

Ears

The ears of modern Siamese cats are very large and pointed. They are
wide-based and should continue the wedge of the head - a perfect triangle
should be formed if one draws a line from the tip of the cat's nose to the tip
of the ear. The ears are positioned more
on the side of the head than on the top.

The Body of Modern Siamese Cats

The body is of medium size, males are larger than females.
The overall look is lean, angular, svelte. And elegant, definitely elegant and
refined. The body is well muscled, yet delicate. And because of the
musculature, when you lift the Siamese, the cat feels a lot heavier than it
looks.

Both shoulders and hips continue the tubilar line of the
body. The hips are never wider than the shoulder. And the abdomen should be
tight.

Legs and Paws

The legs and paws of modern Siamese cats are of course long and
slim. The hind legs are longer than the front legs, and they should be in good
proportion to the body. The paws are ovail, dainty and small, as fits the
overall elegance of this cat breed.

Tail

In the past a kinked tail was a breed characteristic of the
Siamese cat, but this has been bred out. (You can still see this genetic trait
in the street cats of Thailand). The tail should be slender and thin, whispy,
and it should taper to a fine point.

Coat

The coat of modern Siamese cats fits its slim figure beautifully -
it is short, glossy and silky, and lies close to skin. Before the Siamese cat
became known people did not really know cats could have such silky coats. But
since they met the Siamese, achieving a similar kind of silky coat became the
goal of many breeders of other cat breeds as well.

The coat of the Siamese has no undercoat, and adheres
closely to the body. Because of this the Siamese are sensitive to colds.

The coat darkens with age (from fawn color to a paler shade
of the cat's point color). As the cooler parts of the cat are darker, if the
cat gets fat, the coat also gets darker - the fat layer insulates the skin from
the body heat. Interestingly enough this
also causes the Siamese to show past fevers in its fur - the actively growing hairs
may show "ticking" later, having experienced the higher temperature
of the skin. You may see such ticking in the cat's mask, but it disappears when
new hair replaces the old. Also in
warmer climates the Siamese cats tend to have paler points and lighter coats.

Leena's Books

Tutankhamun

This book travels with the King Tut - Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh -exhibition on its world tour of ten cities from March 2018 onwards

Tutankhamun: In My Own Hieroglyphs tells the story, for older children, of the life and afterlife of the famous young pharaoh in his own words. Tutankhamun tells us about the trouble he got into as a child in Akhenaten's palace in the new city of Akhetaten, and how he became a boy pharaoh. As we learn, his life changed a lot when he died as a teenager, and long years of boredom started in his tomb with only his pet monkey Fingers and his treasure for company. He did meet some of the Egyptian gods, of course, and had fun scaring off tomb robbers, but it was mostly rather dull. Then one day, some new and strange people, including a Mr. Howard Carter, arrived and began to take all the treasures out of his royal tomb. Fortunately, through the eyes of his beautiful golden mask, Tutankhamun, could have fun again traveling around the world

Mr Mummific

An ancient friend of mine, Mr Mummific dictated a book about how he became a mummy - and I was his scribe and artist. The book is available at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Another hilarious adventure for children with Mr Mummific, the mummy with attitude. He now tells the story of his mishaps, misunderstandings and misadventures as he leaves his tomb through the False Door to embark on the complicated and hazardous journey to the Afterlife aboard the magnificent Ship of Millions.

The Nephilim Quest Series

The first book in an epic fantasy series based on human mythology. The search for the mythical Watchers, the angels who fathered the Nephilim, the half-angels. A story that moves on three levels - our times, ancient Greece and ancient Egypt.

Preview Nephlim Quest 1: Shadowhunter online

Perfect. Just perfect. Waking up dead one morning to find you have been evicted from your body by a cursed soul from ancient Egypt. As a result, Nina finds herself in the afterlife, in the Halfway House of those souls who had kicked the bucket prematurely. She needs the help of two bored dead teenagers, an ancient angel and a repenting demon, to get back to the land of the living.

***

My Author Website at leenasbooks.com

I also paint cat art - if you wish to check out my work, you can do so by clicking here.

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